Thursday, December 08, 2011

It's War-Not Neighborly Disagreements
Nadene Goldfoot
As much as we hate it, it's a war between Gaza terrorism and Israel.  Hamas terrorists won the vote with the people when the USA pressed for a democratic way of choosing sides, and Fatah's PLO group lost out to the more powerful and persuasive terrorists.  I say terrorists because that's what they are.  They don't wear uniforms.  It's not a state-run army, which makes it hard on Israeli soldiers to tell just who is who.   They prey on women and children as much as possible.  Just look at the school in Safed where they had attacked and killed students in 1974, the Ma'alot Massacre, just 6 years berfore I arrived in Israel to teach. 

Instead of just dropping bombs in populated areas helter skelter-like, Israel uses their intelligence gathering to do surgical strikes by their fighter pilots on the ringleaders.  This time Atzam Tzubhi Ismail Batash, age 43 and another of his group, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, were struck down in their vehicle at a public garden near Gaza City.  Gaza reported that 5 bystanders were also wounded in the strike. That hasn't been confirmed as yet, but is possible.  Usually terrorists try to be in populated areas because that has been a detriment to these surgical strikes many times.  Each strike from the IDF has to be okayed first at their home base.  They do try their best to avoid collateral damage of killing innocent citizens. 

Batash was the senior operative in charge of many attacks on Israeli citizens of southern Israel.  It was known that their cell was  planning more.

Hamas and Fatah have both been told that anytime Israel is attacked will only bring retaliation on their people.  Six years had gone by from 2001 on to Operation Cast Lead without being able to retaliate.  The gloves are off now.  If they want to live in peace they have to be peaceful to Israel.  Their missiles are reaching farther out and can hit anyplace.  Only the security that Israel offers its citizens of bomb shelters keeps the death count down in Israel.  It doesn't count for the emotional trauma people live under.  The fear of even going to the bathroom takes over for children and adults, as they only have 12 seconds or less to get to a safer place.  It's like living under Russian roulette. 

All the Palestinian Authority had to do was to accept the fact that a Jewish state was created in 1948 and to respect the decision and work out peaceful plans  together with Israel.  This is the real world, and it didn't happen.  The Arabs could have had wonderful lives in comparison to what they have settled for.  When Golda Meier conversed with a high level Sheik, he was most happy that Jews were going to live in this neglected piece of land and make something of it to the benefit of all.  I guess he was just an enigma to the rest of his peers.
 
Resource: Arutz Sheva Newspaper

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